QUICK JUMPERS

* North Dakota continues on the road against the Mavericks in Omaha. This is the second of two road contests before they return home to host St. Thomas.

*The Fighting Hawks head into Saturday's game with an overall record of 13-10 and a conference record of 7-5 after beating Denver in overtime (73-64).

* Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks with 24 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.

* Olivia Lane followed with 12 points and a career-high of 17 rebounds to earn herself a double-double.

* Melissa Leet narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and six rebounds.

* Claire Orth was the final Fighting Hawks to end the night in the double figures with ten points. She secured six rebounds and had two steals.

* Maggie Manson ended the night with eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

* Melissa Leet is currently leading the Summit in blocks with an average of 2.0 per game and a total of 45 this season.

* Borowicz earned TicketSmarter Summit League Athlete of the Month in January with an average of 20.2 points per game in the month.

* North Dakota leads Omaha in the series 54-11.

* The Mavericks currently sit at a 6-15 overall record. They are currently 2-10 for conference play.

* The Mavericks leading scorer is Mariah Murdie with 10.8 points per game.

* The Mavericks were picked as the eighth team in the preseason poll and currently sit tied for last in the standings.

* North Dakota is currently averaging 67.1 points per game, and they are averaging 37.8 rebounds per game.

 * The Fighting Hawks were ranked ninth in the Summit's Preseason Coaches' Poll. They currently sit fourth in the standings.

 

ON TAP

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks travel to Omaha to play the Mavericks. Opening tip is scheduled for noon on Saturday, Feb. 5.

 

LAST TIME OUT

The University of North Dakota beat Denver in overtime, 73-64. The Fighting Hawks took the initial lead, but the Pioneers responded seconds later with a three and layup by Uju Ezeudu to take the 5-2 lead. Manson and Orth combined for consecutive baskets to retake the lead with 7:25 left in the first. Borowicz cut it back to within one (8-9) with 4:09 left in the game. The Pioneers hit their final basket of the quarter to extend the lead to three, but Lane and Borowicz hit back-to-back baskets to give the Fighting Hawks a 12-11 lead. The second quarter started off with both teams failing to score until Hoskin netted a basket at 9:02. Makayla Minett responded with a layup to bring the game back within one and start the Pioneers on a 7-0 run. The run was ended by Orth who brought it within two with a floating jump shot (16-18). On the next possession, DJ Davis tied the game with a layup. The Pioneers retook the lead seconds later. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but the Pioneers ended the quarter with a 28-24 lead. Exiting the locker room, Denver maintained momentum as Meghan Boyd hit a three and Ezeudu hit a bucket to extend the lead to nine. After the timeout, the Fighting Hawks continued to extend their run to 6-0, but Cheyenne Forney stopped it with a layup. As the quarter wound down, North Dakota went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 40 each. In the fourth quarter, the Fighting Hawks and Pioneers continued to make it a back-and-forth game, but Borowicz hit a free-throw and jump shot to give UND the three-point lead (45-42). The Pioneers fought back to retake the lead and go on a 6-0 run, but Leet cut the run short and kept the game within one with 5:50 left to play. At the halfway point in the quarter, North Dakota and Denver sat tied at 50. As the quarter continued, the teams continued to battle. Borowicz hit a three with 1:28 left to play to tie it at 57. Ezeudu netted a layup to put the Pioneers up by two, but Lane was fouled on her next shot and made one of her two layups to keep the game within one for the Hawks. Forney was fouled in the following play and put the Pioneers up by three with 36 seconds left to play. North Dakota called a timeout and chose to advance the ball up the court for a sideline out-of-bounds play. The Fighting Hawks inbounded the ball and Borowicz found Manson outside the arch for a three to send it into overtime tied at 61. The Fighting Hawks carried the momentum into overtime as Leet scored a three and then a two to put them up by five. Lane helped UND extend the run to 8-0 before Denver was fouled and netted two free-throws to put them within six (63-69). Lane scored a layup to extend the lead to eight. Denver continued to attack, but they would score only one more point as overtime went on. Borowicz scored the last two points of the game to give the Fighting Hawks a 73-64 win.

 

ALL-TIME WITH NEBRASKA-OMAHA

The University of North Dakota leads Nebraska-Omaha in the series, 54-11. The last time that the two teams played each other was on Jan. 6, 2022. The Fighting Hawks beat the Mavericks 71-57 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

LANE ON THE BOARDS

Olivia Lane currently sits as the rebounding leader for the Fighting Hawks with an average of 8.1 per game. She sits third in the Summit League behind Evan Zars from Western Illinois and Uju Ezeudu from Denver. In the game against the Pioneers, Lane secured a career-high 17 rebounds. She currently has 153 total rebounds this season.

KACIE IN CONTROL

Kacie Borowicz leads the Fighting Hawks in scoring with 18.6 points per game. She is the second leading scorer in the Summit League behind Naomie Alnatas from Kansas City. Borowicz currently earned TicketSmarter Summit League Athlete of the Month for January. She finished the month averaging 20.2 points during January. Borowicz also went 49/51 in free-throws during the month.

 

SCOUTING NEBRASKA-OMAHA

Nebraska-Omaha enters the game with a 6-15 overall record and a 2-10 conference record. The Mavericks opened their season on the road against the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones with a loss of 38-65. They continued on the road with a loss to Creighton (51-71), a loss to Kansas (56-81), a loss to Weber State (45-59) and then a win over UIC (70-58).  The Mavericks held their first home game on Dec. 2 against Tennessee State, which they won (67-56). The home games continued with a win against Saint Mary of Omaha (87-57), a loss to Kansas State (56-87), and a win against Northern Colorado (48-41). Their first conference game was against St. Thomas, who fell to the Mavericks, 61-55. Nebraska-Omaha then traveled to Western Illinois where they fell 70-77. Their third conference game against Kansas City was canceled. They then hosted Oral Roberts and fell 45-50. The Mavericks traveled to North Dakota were they fell 57-71 to the Fighting Hawks. Omaha the traveled to Fargo to where they beat North Dakota State, 68-54. The Mavericks returned home to host four straight games where they lost to Kansas City (64-73), South Dakota State (49-72), South Dakota (45-68), and Denver (62-71). The Mavericks returned to the road where they also dropped games against Oral Roberts (55-64) and Kansas City (65-68). They recently played North Dakota State and lost, 53-69.

NEXT UP

Following Saturday afternoon's game, the University of North Dakota hosts the University of St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 10. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.